Presented at the Annual National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) in New York in March 2008. This presentation explores how different item weighting can affect the effective weights, validity coefficents and test reliability of composite scores among test takers.

This study explores the concept of finding pleasure in social and ecological caring from the a/r/tographic stance of the author as artist, researcher, and teacher. I combine place-based and visual culture art education with multicultural children's picture books to promote more connection and pleasure in the teaching and learning process. The…

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) increasingly is being used to study and address environmental justice. This article presents the results of a cross-site case study of four CBPR partnerships in the United States that researched environmental health problems and worked to educate legislators and promote relevant public policy. The…

The purposes of the Colorado Science Teaching Enhancement Program (CO-STEP) are to improve the background in science content and the instructional skills of teachers in grades four through six throughout Colorado and to support the implementation of effective instruction. A network of six Teacher Development Centers in Colorado coordinate teacher…

This document summarizes and presents materials produced during a qualitative international study of the role of transformative learning in achieving sustainable societies and global responsibility that included the following activities: case studies of experiences with transformative learning in seven countries; international survey and workshop;…

This document of conference proceedings is divided into five sections. The first, STS (Science Technology and Society) Studies, contains five papers: (1) "Scientific Discourse and Public Policy" (Jane C. Webb; George R. Webb; Charolette Webb); (2) "An Answer to Neil Postman's 'Technopoly'" (David K. Nations); (3)…

Reports on the development and recognition of environmental protection qualifications in the chemical and metal industries in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom were synthesized. The synthesis focused on companies' and social partners' current and planned strategies and obligations of companies regarding recognizing…

The booklet is part of a grade 10-12 social studies series produced for bilingual education. The series consists of six major thematic modules, with four to five booklets in each. The interdisciplinary modules are based on major ideas and are designed to help students understand some major human problems and make sound, responsive decisions to…

The teacher who understands the importance of energy is often faced with the challenge of incorporating it into an already crowded curriculum. This compendium provides a resource for quality lesson plans and support materials at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The materials were evaluated for their ability to meet the educational…

This environmental education program is designed to increase awareness among junior high school students of stream ecosystems and those habitats which comprise the ecosystems adjacent to streams. The teaching content of the manual is presented in two major sections. The first section provides information and background material for the group…

This paper reviews the educational research related to student understanding of water and water resources. The literature is drawn primarily from science and environmental education literature and is divided into student knowledge of: physical and chemical properties, biology, earth systems and water resources. The majority of work has been in the…

The project PARK-IT! represents a unique partnership between a public elementary school and a city park in which students and teachers utilize a small naturalized area of the park as a Land Laboratory, and in return become its stewards. The project also includes this curriculum activity guide which can assist teachers in using the Land Lab with…

This study examines how a group of Japanese teachers cooperatively designed lessons using a television program and other materials for social and environmental studies. Teachers started the design by identifying their aims of instruction through examining the contents of an educational television program. This program described how a group of…

The Ocean Drilling Project brings together scientists and governments from 20 countries to explore the earth's structure and history as it is revealed beneath the oceans' basins. Scientific expeditions examine rock and sediment cores obtained from the ocean floor to learn about the earth's basic processes. The series of activities in this…

In the first phase of this study an interdisciplinary curriculum unit was developed centered on the concept of sustainable development in tropical rainforests. The centerpiece of the interdisciplinary unit was the investigation of a simulated environmental problem which required students to develop and then decide on a solution, having weighed a…